Determining the potential of universities as holiday destinations: a case study of Chepkoilel University College, Kenya

Abstract

As a response to government spending cuts in higher education, institutions of higher education have sought ways of diversifying their sources of income. This has made institutions of higher learning attract holidaymakers to exploit under-utilized campus buildings during student vacations. This is a well-established practice in the western world, United Kingdom, for example. This qualitative research was conducted in Chepkoilel University College to determine how well campus-based tourism (CBT) enterprise is known among the Chepkoilelian fraternity. Descriptive survey research design was adopted, and semi-structured interviews and focus- group discussions were used to collect data. Sixty (60) respondents were selected using stratified random sampling, of strata including students, academic, subordinate and administrative staff. Data was analyzed thematically where related topics were categorized into major themes identified through developing a coding system based on collected data, classifying major topics covered, re-reading the text and highlighting key quotations and finally placing the coded materials under the major themes identified. Apart from the need to determine the popularity of CBT, the study also sought to find out whether the University College has the potential for the development of this form of tourism. An opinion on the appropriateness of CBT enterprise was also examined. From the findings, it became evident that there are diverse attractions which can enhance the promotion of tourism such as the annual agricultural business fair, the annual cross-country and the farming activities as key attractions drawing visitors to the campus. If the information contained in this paper is anything to go by, then it can be argued that universities need not be wholly dependent on governments and donor agencies for research funding, instead they should set about floating small enterprises to help generate finances for their research projects, more particularly, utilizing otherwise idle resources during long vacations to provide additional income. The study provides crucial information that might be useful to decision makers in the Kenyan tourism industry, as well as institutions of higher education to develop alternative ways of generating income to support their mainstream educational activities.